estwärts

Although Wednesday, August 20, is a public holiday in Estonia (more on that later), we take advantage of the rain-free morning to make progress on our construction sites. At the toilet site, Tobias finishes the foundation and prepares the basic framework of the toilet for installation.

In the main house, Klaas is also busy repairing foundations, but here to stabilize a wall that was in danger of collapsing. The whole thing is quickly done, and since he is already working in the main house, he also repairs a roof tile that came loose during a storm last winter.

It’s going to be very noisy around the main house today. Some of the machines we borrowed are to be driven back to Germany tomorrow on the trailer, and we want to make good use of them one last time. So Lola is cutting down a few more thuja trees with the chainsaw. To make sure the densely intertwined trees fall properly, we play tug-of-war with the tree and win.

Behind the thuja trees, we discover another new part of the property. Gradually, several apple trees come into view, which have managed to survive in the shade of the other trees. We want to prune these in the next few days. To avoid getting our feet too wet, Stephan clears the area underneath them.

Since our chef would like to take the day off today, Petra and Nils are taking over the kitchen and whipping up a delicious lunch that we can finally enjoy at the table without rain.

After lunch, Marvin, who ended up staying with us last night and also worked with us this morning, inaugurates our new guestbook. Anne bound the book herself, and it turned out really great. We look forward to collecting many wonderful memories in it. So if you’re ever in the area…

In the afternoon, we drive to an event in nearby Uhtna to mark the anniversary of Estonia’s regained independence, which some of us also attended last year. In addition to short speeches, there are dance performances and everyone sings songs together. One of Krista’s classmates is dancing, and we are asked if we want to take a picture with the dancers, as we are immediately recognized as “the Germans.” Shortly before the end of the event, it starts to rain, but the Estonians are much better prepared than we are, and everyone quickly puts on their ponchos or takes out their umbrellas. The program continues without interruption.

After the event, we really want to try out an Estonian village swing. We already told you about this type of swing here on the blog two years ago. They’re big square swings that can hold up to 10 people, sometimes even more. So we’re heading to the Põlula estate with Krista, because at least there used to be a swing like that there. The visit is exciting for us in any case, because Rihula once belonged to this estate. After the Baltic Germans left, the building was used as a school for a long time, and Krista also went to school here. Today, the property is privately owned. We venture a peek behind the fence anyway and sadly discover that the swing is no longer there. Instead, we marvel at the tall chimney of the former spirit distillery.

Back in Rihula, Krista keeps us company for the rest of the afternoon after picking up two trays full of sprat sandwiches from Marju. These are traditionally eaten on the two Estonian national holidays. The sprats are pickled in salt - and not in oil, as is customary in Germany.

Thursday starts off a bit chaotic. Instead of our usual morning gathering, everyone scatters because Klaas, Anna, and Jolie, who are driving the car back, want to leave early. Before that, the last few things have to be packed and the load secured. Sören and Nils also set off and drive the first few meters in the car before continuing on to Tallinn. We say goodbye to the five of them and remain behind as a now significantly smaller group.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. Petra, for example, despite saying goodbye with a heavy heart, is busy with pruning shears and a saw on the various apple trees on our farm, which haven’t been pruned for a long time and are therefore quite overgrown. By cutting down the thuja trees, we have exposed more apple trees than can realistically be pruned this year, but nevertheless, the first ones are now back in shape and we are looking forward to what we hope will be a bountiful apple harvest next year, as we are somewhat disappointed with this year’s yield.

Progress is also being made on the window restoration project, where many of us have now completed an internship with Anna in window restoration, with a changing cast of participants. In any case, the stack of provisionally finished windows is growing steadily. However, since the window putty has to dry for several weeks before it can be painted over, we will have to store the puttied windows until the next construction camp so that we can give them their final coat of paint next year.

On Thursday afternoon, we have another excursion planned, which Krista has organized for us. Eight of us set off for the spring where we always get our drinking water. There we meet the manager of the nearby Põlula fish farm, who first explains that we are standing at one of Estonia’s most productive springs, which produces around 440 liters of water per second. Amazing! We continue on to the hatchery, which is subordinate to the Estonian Forestry Authority and serves purely for nature conservation. No commercial fish farming is carried out here; instead, young fish are raised and released into the wild to support local fish populations. The programs currently focus mainly on salmon, trout, sturgeon, and river pearl mussels, which are raised here for several years in conditions as close to nature as possible until they are finally released into the wild. The fish are raised both indoors in several large halls with fish tanks and outdoors in fish ponds, which are fed by spring water. Many thanks for the great tour, we learned a lot!

On Friday, we are once again awakened by rain, and it takes a little longer than usual for everyone to gather for breakfast and for the day to really get started. As the sun gets stronger, our motivation increases, and we rush to the construction sites, knowing full well that rain showers are expected to make work difficult again starting at noon. Tobias, Jonas, and Stephan erect the basic framework of the toilet house and begin to attach the exterior paneling. They add two 90-degree elbows to the straight ventilation pipe supplied so that the exhaust air can be discharged to the side and the roof does not have to be broken through. Slowly, it becomes apparent that the building will not only be functional, but will also fit in well with the rest of our courtyard.

Due to the frequent rain showers, our laundry outside keeps getting wet. Therefore, it is time for a covered clothesline. Last year, we strung lines in the barn. However, this is currently the workspace for the toilet construction and window installation when it rains. So we decided that the lines should be strung in the room with the cellar hole in the main house. This reminded us of another construction project. We wanted to build a cover for the cellar hole. Said and done: Basti takes on the task and, over the course of the day, builds a perfectly fitting hatch for the cellar hole. Hanging up the lines is then just a minor task.

Meanwhile, Petra and Anna are taking some time to think about possible uses for the barn building and the outdoor area. It’s exciting to imagine what could be created here and what possibilities there are for using the space. We want to explore this in more detail over the next few days.

Despite the changing, relatively cold weather of the last few days, there are always particularly beautiful moments here with great sunsets, shooting stars, or enchanting morning mist. Maybe the sun will surprise us in the next few days, and if not, we are well equipped with warm clothes, tea, blankets, and work to keep us warm.